As Hot As Fire, As Cold As Ice
by sandrocks
Summary: As Ginny Weasley prepares to marry the one she loves, she remembers the journey that took her there. Starting during her seventh year at Hogwarts, where she met the real Malfoy, and they went through hate, love, and nearly Ginny's mistake of a wedding. AU
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. **

Introduction

Today she was happy, and she deserved it. Her life had been difficult and full pain, too full of violence for her meager 22 years. And because of this, Ginny Weasley decided that she would not spare a penny for her wedding day. It was going to be lavish, elegant, romantic – everything she had dreamed of since she was a little girl.

Her hair, a dark, fiery red, was cascading down her slim back in perfect ringlets. Part of it was held up with a sapphire clip (her something blue), in a complicated looking formation. Her warm brown eyes were lit up with soft gold shimmer shadow, brown eyeliner, and mascara. A bit of blush rosied up her flawless, lightly tanned complexion, and her lips were painted into a perfect, glossy pink pout.

Definitely her favorite part of the wedding (aside from marrying the man she adored, the man that was her other half) was her gown. It was strapless, with a sweetheart neckline, in slightly off-white colors. The corset top gave away to a magnificent ballroom skirt, complete with lace and beading and a long train. Around Ginny's delicate neck lay a heavy, beautiful necklace, white-gold and goblin made with pear shaped diamonds sticking out from the original brilliant-diamond-encrusted chain. Diamonds glittered from her wrist, too, in the shape of a diamond chain. Her ears dazzled with a pair of diamond drop earrings, completing the tradition of the family she was marrying into. _The bride is to be covered with diamonds_ she remembered her future mother-in-law saying.

Ginny slid her feet into her light gold, satin heels that had been enchanted to be comfortable and sturdy so she wouldn't fall as she walked down the isle in between her three-hundred guests, and once again smiled. As corny as it sounded in her head, she truly felt like a princess on her wedding day.

"Ginerva! A sight to see, truly." Narcissa Malfoy, who had been a surprising supporter of the relationship since its early days, knocked softly on the door and then stepped in. "Your father is here, are you ready?"

"Of course I am." Ginny turned towards the door and smiled at her now completely bald father as he slunk into the room.

"How's my baby girl? Ready to be made a proper woman?" he asked, a touch of sadness in his voice. Ginny was his only daughter, and this was the last day that she would be his baby. "you look beautiful." He added, looking her up and down. "I don't think there's ever been a bride as beautiful."

"Ginny! You're getting married!" Hermione joined them. Her pregnant form looked stunning in an off-the-shoulder violet gown, and she was already holding back tears.

The wedding was taking place in the lovely gardens of the Malfoy Manor, which were in full spring bloom. 300 white chairs, each decorated with two red roses, sat on the green lawn, facing the intricate alter which had also been decorated with red roses. A gold carpet covered the aisle, shimmery and brightly reflecting the sun.

Beautiful little Victoire Weasley, with a crown of flowers in her shoulder-length silvery hair, did a twirl in her pink dress and then took her basket of flowers in her hands. The wedding party walked outside, and everyone took their places.

The guests stood as Ginny began her walk down the isle. At the end of the gold carpet stood her lover, her savior, the one she knew she would be with for the rest of her life. And as she looked at him, his blonde hair blowing slightly in the wind and a true smile on his pale face, she couldn't help but remember how they got to this day…

**A/N: I hope you liked it! This is my first attempt at a Ginny/Draco story. The actual story starts in the next chapter, and don't worry, the rest of the chapters will be a lot longer. **


	2. Shimmering New Marble

Ginny Weasley stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express, trying to find her boyfriend in the crowd of people. As the train started to move, she felt a pang in her chest; she wanted to say goodbye, she had to say goodbye…

"Ginny! Ginny!" She heard him, and immediately wretched the window open so she could lean out of it.

"Harry!" she called back.

All of a sudden, he fought his way out of the throng of people wanting to talk to the one who had defeated Lord Voldemort. "Get out of my _way,_ I need to say goodbye to my girlfriend!" he exclaimed to someone.

The train was moving faster, but he easily caught up to it. "Goodbye, I'm going to miss you." He told her.

"I already miss you." She called out, the train picking up speed.

"I love you!" he shouted, and Ginny fell back on her seat as the train lurched violently and turned the corner. She was shocked, for he had never said those three words before, three words that she had been wishing to hear for a very long time. The ironic part was, she hadn't even been able to say them back.

"Ginny?" Hermione opened the compartment door and sat down next to her, full of smiles.

"I thought you had to be in the prefect compartment." Ginny asked her best friend. Hermione had decided to return to Hogwarts to finish her seventh year. In fact, many seventh years from the previous year were returning again. After the destruction of the battle of Hogwarts, NEWT examinations had been moved to the ministry, but few people went. It wasn't as though anything had really been learned the previous year, with all the Death Eaters teaching classes.

"I was just saying bye to Ron, I'm on my way there." Hermione said with a dreamy look that made Ginny want to gag. "Will you be alright in here?"

"Luna should be here any minute, she's joining me. Don't ruin your perfect reputation because of me, go!" That was all the encouragement Hermione needed. The bushy-haired brunette was off in seconds, leaving Ginny once again alone with her thoughts.

It had been a long, busy summer. At the beginning, it was full of funerals. Those were the hardest. Remus, Tonks, Creevy, Fred, and many more. They had been buried in the Hogwarts graveyard; along with the many other dead heroes… their names had been engraved on the giant war memorial that stood on the Hogwarts grounds, the marble glittering in the sun. The whole family had sat at home for a week and done nothing, not shower, barely eaten, but instead just stared. During the first week after the battle, it seemed as though the Wizarding world was intent on repairing itself. The Aurors captured Death Eaters right, left and center. Specialized wizards attended to the monsters that Voldemort had brought into the battle. The dementors disappeared north; nobody wanted to see them guarding Azkaban. The injured, both from the battle and the ones wrongly accused that had suffered in Azkaban were healing in St. Mungo's. As those in hiding heard the news of defeat, they came back into the open and were met with a changed world. Families were reunited, loved ones married, everyone celebrated.

Of course, it was not nearly as simple to heal the hearts and souls of those who had seen and endured the horrors Voldemort had inflicted upon the Wizarding world.

After the funerals, and the celebrations, came the many trials of Death Eaters that had been captured. Ginny dutifully attended each one. Her days were filled with visits to the courtroom, and visits to the hospital. She delighted when each injured friend improved, she even sat next to Lavender Brown with Ron, Hermione, and Harry as the girl recovered from her encounter with the werewolf.

In July came the ceremonies honoring those who had fought in the battle of Hogwarts. It was almost comical, seeing the young ones who fought looking somber and composed as they stood beside the likes of McGonagall. Ginny herself had been involved in the ceremony, as well as the rest of the Weasley family. They suddenly found themselves very popular, though of course nowhere near as popular as Harry. Weirdly enough, Harry had then turned to her soon after the battle, and the oddest words tumbled out of his mouth.

"Will you please write my biography? I'm sick and tired of people asking me, I trust you not to twist my words."

She agreed, and they worked everyday, writing down every adventure he had endured with Voldemort, from the Philosophers Stone to the showdown in the Great Hall. The book concentrated on exactly what had happened, as well as all the details of the prophecy and the hurcruxes. Harry wanted it published so people would stop asking questions. It had been exactly two weeks since it was published, and critics were raving about it, it was a bestseller, and Ginny's Gringotts account was growing steadily. Harry had insisted.

"Ginny." Luna entered the compartment, looking as dreamy as always. Ginny snapped out of her reminiscing and forced a smile on her face.

"Luna! Come, sit, I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Yes, it has been quite a while, hasn't it? I saw Harry saying goodbye to you on the platform, that was very sweet. A pity he's not also coming back to Hogwarts."

Ginny snorted. "Right. Like him and Ron would ever dream of coming back if they didn't have to. They got accepted into Auror training even without their NEWTs, no surprise there. Do you know if Neville is coming back?"

"No, no he is not, after he got his Order of Merlin the Ministry also accepted him into Auror training." Luna shrugged and pulled a Quibbler out of her bag. Ginny returned to staring out of her window, occasionally interrupted by people staring into their compartment, trying to get a glimpse of the two of them. All the summer, the press had been eagerly writing about the so-called new 'it' couple and Ginny was constantly dealing with reporters questioning her every time she went to the ministry, St. Mungo's, or Diagon Alley. It was nothing short of ridiculous.

The lunch trolley came by, and soon after Hermione returned from her meeting. As the sky darkened and they changed into their school robes, thunder rumbled overhead and rain began to fall. By the time the train had pulled into its Hogsmede stop, it was pouring outside. The Threstrals were waiting for them; Ginny saw many of her classmates and the younger children wince at seeing them. It was all new to them, but Ginny had been able to see them since she'd seen Sirius die at the Department of Mysteries.

"It's horrible that kids so young can see them." Hermione whispered to Ginny, obviously thinking about the Threstrals as well. All Ginny could do was nod, being far to anxious to open her mouth. She hadn't been back to Hogwarts since the funeral and the unveiling of the monument and at the time the castle had still been torn apart, great pieces of marble and stone missing from all different parts of the castle.

A huge plaque had been placed in the entrance hall. It was a shock, entering the hall, because all the missing pieces of marble form the staircase had been repaired with brand new, glittering pieces. As Ginny glanced up, she noticed that the rest of the school was similarly patched up, with brand new stone glittering against the dirty, worn walls.

The plaque was surrounded by students. One by one, each student touched it and moved aside, allowing other to read the words engraved.

_In this hall, the battle of Hogwarts was fought by many brave souls. These heroes defended our school so it could remain a place for children to learn and grow into adults. Remember those who gave their lives for our safety, and remember that these halls have seen one of the most important battles of our generation. 1997. _

Ginny, Hermione, and Luna each touched the plaque and then moved aside, pretending not to notice the silence that had descended as many curious faces watched their reactions to the plaque. Hermione's eyes filled with tears; Luna looked a lot less dreamy then usual, and Ginny assumed her emotionless, stone-like mask that came in handy for occasions such as this.

It was even harder to enter the Great Hall, which had been so damaged by the battle that nearly all of it was brand new. It was hard to sit down at the Gryffindor table, knowing that only a few feet away the injured and dead had lay, knowing that Bellatrix Lestrange, Yaxley, Macnair, Dolohov, Voldemort had all been brought down here.

Chatter filled the hall. The spots Hermione and Ginny had chosen were near Seamus and Dean, who smiled at them and engaged them in conversation.

"You came out of hiding?" Ginny asked Dean with a smile. Hopefully he too had put the fact that they had once dated behind him. To Ginny, it felt like a lifetime ago.

"Yeah, it's so weird, though. I'm glad to be back here, I'm actually excited to learn something. I swear to god, something went wrong in my brain." He laughed. "What's it like, being the center of attention?"

"Oh, be quiet. You were at the battle too, I saw you getting a medal." She rolled her eyes at him. She was glad to see that he had moved on.

The doors banged open and at once, the Great Hall was silenced. Little Flitwick led a long line of first years, all who were looking sufficiently wet and nervous. The hat, who seemed to have figured out that the war was over, did not once warn them about sticking together but went back to singing about the qualities of the different houses. There was nobody Ginny knew in first year, and she didn't pay too much attention, only joining in the applause when the hat yelled out _Gryffindor!_

Ginny did her best to be as friendly and open as she always was during the feast. The food, she was happy to say, was just as good as it had always been.

"I missed these meals while we were camping." Hermione sighed. "The boys would always look to _me_ to feed them, just because I'm a girl."

"Too bad you don't know anything about cooking." Ginny giggled.

"I'm bloody rubbish! Next summer, I'm going to get Mrs. Weasley to teach me." She replied, a determined look on her face. "Mum doesn't know much about cooking either, none of the women in my family do."

"Speaking of your mum, you haven't told me how Australia was at all." Ginny reminded her. Hermione had returned from her month-long search for her parents only several days ago, and there had been no time to hear her friend's tale.

"I wish your mum had let you come with me." Hermione sighed. "It was hard. You would think after a year of searching for those damned Hurcruxes I would be ok with travelling, but I still get nervous when I portkey. It didn't take me that long to find them, of course. They were in Sydney. It took a bit longer for me to convince them to enter their apartment, where I could safely lift the enchantment. I couldn't risk doing it in a hallway or something, in case someone saw. I kept trying different disguises, but finally I pretended that my grandmother used to live in the flat, and as she had recently died, I wanted to visit the place where I spent a lot of my childhood."

"You invented a whole story? Usually you bloody suck at coming up with lies."

"I probably overdid it a bit… I said that I had lived on and off with my grandmother as my mother was an alcoholic. But, anyway, they let me in and offered me some tea, and then I lifted the enchantment."

"I bet they were mighty confused when they found out they were in Australia."

"It took me a while to explain everything to them. After all, I've been hiding things about Voldemort and the stuff I've done at school for the past few years. But they wouldn't have any half-truths, so I spent a few hours explaining everything that has happened since the Triwizard tournament to them."

"When are they moving back to England?"

"Well, they contacted some of their close friends and told them to start looking for a house. We invented some story about me being ill to explain why they suddenly moved to Australia for a year. I helped them pack up most of their things and Dad quit his job. They got their old positions back already, which is good. I was worried that they wouldn't be able to go back to their old life so easily." Hermione looked guilty.

"Snap out of it! Don't feel bad about what you did, it was necessary. You know very well that the Death Eaters would have come knocking, it was the safest thing for them, to go across the globe."

"I know that, and I know I saved their lives by doing it, but I can't help feeling bad about it! Mum was infuriated with me even after I explained everything. Probably because I've been lying a lot these past few years."

"Probably because you've hardly seen them over any vacations." Ginny added smartly.

"I promised them that I would spend Christmas vacation with them. They're planning a trip to the Maldives."

"Hermione! No! You can't leave me by myself at the Burrow at Christmas time. I'll probably throw fifteen temper tantrums a day!"

"Sorry, Gin, you know I wish I could be there to witness the madness." She smiled lightly. "Of course, I'll miss everyone, and Ron especially, but I did promise them."

Once the desserts had been wiped clean from the plates on the table, McGonagall stood up and glared at the students until they all stopped talking. "Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts." She glanced around with sincere fondness. "I certainly hope, and I'm sure everyone in this room does as well, that this year will be much less eventful then the past two years have been. A few months ago, a battle took place here, a battle I'm sure you have all heard of. Many of the students in here today bravely fought in this battle, and it is because of them that we are still able to invite you all to dine in our Great Hall, and learn in the fine classrooms of Hogwarts. Let me remind you that the things we learned during the war should not be forgotten now that it is in the past. Friendship, bravery, and standing up for what you believe in are important in every situation, no matter how small or large. Let us learn from our past mistakes, and not go back to picking conflicts because of one's blood, or because of which Hogwarts house one belongs to.

"When our four founders, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin established Hogwarts a thousand years ago, they created the houses not so that the students would be divided, but so that students could find like-minded peers. Every single student in this hall should not only be proud of the house they belong to, but also of Hogwarts, for we are all united under one roof. There are war heroes from each house, and from each house heroes and villains have emerged. Do not let old prejudices stop us from enjoying what Hogwarts offers." She looked around the hall with a stern expression, her eyes resting on each house table. The hall filled with applause at her speech, every student showing immense respect for their battle-hardened headmistress. Ginny craned her neck to glance over at the Slytherin table. All of them were listening intently to her speech, and most of them were applauding with the rest of the school. It was a start.

"Do not forget to work and play equally hard this year. Before you go off to your warm dormitories, let me introduce to you the new staff that have joined us this year. Although I will be teaching seventh year Transfiguration, let me introduce Professor James who will be taking over the other classes and will completely replace me next year."

A tall, neat looking wizard in deep red robes stood up, smiling, and nodded at the students as they politely applauded him.

"As well, I am happy to announce that our new Muggle Studies teacher will be Professor Brodsky." A short, stubby witch with flyaway blonde hair wave cheerily to the great hall, and once she sat back down, the headmistress continued.

"Last but not least, the post of Defense Against the dark arts has been taken over by Professor Hardy." A beautiful woman, tall and willowy, with blood red lips against her pale complexion and a long mane of dark hair stood up, smirking at the crowd. She looked quite young, and Ginny was sure that all the boys were going to be over her in every single class.

"Off to bed, you've got classes tomorrow; I want each of you bright-eyed for your first day back. Goodnight!"

The hall was once again filled with chatter and the scraping of dozens of benches as they were pushed back and students began to file through the great double doors, talking about their summers and the upcoming school year. Hermione rushed ahead to help the first years find their way up to the common room, but Ginny hung back, not wanting to be trampled by the crowd. She pretended to be searching for something in her bag, and only stood up when nearly everyone was gone. She paused in the entrance hall again, looking around at the glistening new marble.

"What are you dawdling for, Weasley?" a drawling voice asked from behind her. Ginny spun around to face Malfoy. She was surprised to find him back at Hogwarts, even though his name had been cleared.

"I don't like crowds." She answered simply. "I didn't expect you to be returning this year."

He shrugged. "Mother insisted. She thought it would be good for me. Of course, most of the students think I'm going to start murdering everyone."

Ginny snorted. "Maybe if you weren't such an arrogant git, Malfoy."

He smirked. "I can't help being who I am, Weasley. See you around." He gave her a nod, and then he was gone.

Ginny shook her head, trying to clear it as she walked upstairs. Had he really talked to her? He's never bothered before, unless it was to throw an insult about her family at her. She remembered his trial very well… Both Harry and Hermione had been his witnesses. The Golden Trio had outgrown their school age argument with Malfoy and Harry especially did not want to see him going away to Azkaban. Narcissa Malfoy had saved Harry's life, and that was worth something. In Ginny's eyes, it was worth a lot.


	3. Changed Conversations

Draco's eyes snapped open in the middle of the night and he jumped up, clutching his wand. Nothing moved around him. Breathing heavily, he sat back down on his four poster bed and tried to calm himself down. _Just a nightmare_ he told himself. It was a new one, but the memory of it was escaping him as water escapes someone's hand. The harder he tried remembering what it was about, the faster it disappeared.

There was no point in attempting to fall asleep again. Tiptoeing quietly, so that he wouldn't wake any of his sleeping roommates, Draco found himself walking out of the Slytherin common room. He knew the castle well, mostly from his sixth year nightly wanderings. From the dungeons he snuck by the Hufflepuff common room and to the painting of the fruit bowl. Maybe a glass of milk and some cookies would calm him down, that was what his mother had given him every night of the summer. Narcissa Malfoy had always been very protective of her son, and while he used to despise it, since the final battle he had let himself sink back into being a Mama's boy.

The house elves were already awake, busy preparing breakfast. It was later then he had thought. They nodded quickly and rushed off to make him cookies and a voice behind interrupted him.

"Wandering the halls, Malfoy?" He turned around to see little Weaslette.

"I was unable to sleep." He said coldly. He couldn't understand why she was being nice to him. They hated each other. Their families hated each other. She probably wanted to hex him, for being involved with the Death Eaters. Draco knew how much pain their movement had cause the Weasley family.

"Me too." She hopped up on one of the counters and let her feet swing against the cabinets. The unspoken word floated between them, bringing them to a certain level of understanding. _Nightmares_.

"You're being civil to me, Weasley." He observed.

She shrugged. "I was at your trial. I have no reason to hate you. Didn't you listen to McGonagall last night? Do not repeat the same mistakes you made before the war or something like that."

"I don't think your boyfriend would be too happy with you talking to me."

"He was a witness for you at your trial. He's outgrown your silly schoolboy rivalry."

"I still don't think he likes me." Draco was amused.

"No, probably not, but he understands why you made the choices you did." She shrugged.

"What, have you been talking about me over your vacation?" he raised his eyebrows pointedly.

"Not at all, only around your trial. Tell me, who was the first person to hex you once you made it out of the ministry?"

"Terry Boot saw me in Diagon Alley and quite politely asked me if he could punch me. I agreed, because I did deserve it and really, who would think Boot would be able to throw a punch?"

"Can he? I mean, throw a punch?"

"Sadly, he can." Draco winced at the memory. "Mother was not too happy with me when I returned home with a broken nose."

"And your father? Is he happy to have escaped prison?"

"Yes, he is, and he is also happy to have escaped Voldemort." Draco replied nastily. His father, as concerned as he had been for his son during the Battle of Hogwarts, had become very moody and withdrawn since. The senior Malfoy knew that both his wife and child detested him for the situation he had brought them into, so he spent his days shut up in his study, managing finances and drinking copious amounts of firewhiskey.

"Here you go, sir. We are glad to help you, sir." A little house elf squeaked by his elbow.

"Milk and cookies?" Weasley raised her eyebrows, trying to hide a smile as she took chocolate éclairs from another house elf and jumped off the counter.

"It's the best remedy." He retorted defensively. "Chocolate?"

"We Weasley's are known for our appetites." Her grin was infectious. "Goodnight, Malfoy, or should I say good morning?" she pondered it as they passed a window; the sun could be seen, just emerging from the horizon. They paused to watch the sunrise for a few moments; it was beautiful, casting red, golden, and purple light onto Hogwarts' impressive grounds.

"Yes, well, I suppose I will be seeing you in class later."

"Alright, and Malfoy?"

"Yes?"

"Enjoy your cookies." She tossed him a smirk that any Slytherin would be proud to call their own, and off she went. Draco scowled behind her returning figure and leaned against the window, determined to eat his cookies before returning to his common room. It wasn't as empty as he had left; a few early risers glanced up as he came through the door. He snuck back into his dark dormitory and threw himself under his covers, pulling his green velvet curtain shut around his bed and pulling out a quidditch magazine from under his pillow.

An hour later, showered and dressed in his school robes, Draco and Blaise descended to the Great Hall for breakfast. Blaise had been Draco's good friend throughout their school years, but they had become particularly close over the summer, seeing each other most days. In those first weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts, it was Blaise that kept Draco, well, sane, taking him out into muggle London, where he was unrecognized and where the girls still giggled when he hit on them. About a week after his trial, some remaining Death Eaters launched an attack in Diagon Alley, and Blaise's beautiful mother was one of the victims. After a week in St. Mungo's, struggling against a terrible piece of dark magic that had hit her, she has passed away.

Now it was Draco's turn to make sure his friend didn't fall back into despair. He invited him to stay at the Malfoy Manor – there as more then enough room – and Narcissa had adopted the boy as her own, feeding him and showering him with advice and chatter.

The two handsome young men took their usual spots at the Slytherin table just as Slughorn began to make his way along the house table, handing out timetables.

***

Ginny was busy composing a letter to Harry when the post came in.

"Hey, look, you made the front page!" Hermione snorted into her pumpkin juice. Ginny looked curiously at the paper, wondering what on earth the press had unearthed now. Her face reddened as she read the title: _The Boy Who Lived Professes love for Girlfriend Ginerva Weasley_. Below it was a picture of Harry running alongside the Hogwarts Express.

"Bloody hell, is there nothing else going on in the world that they can talk about? Can someone famous please have an illegitimate child or something?" She said, cringing.

"Apparently not." And apparently, Hermione found the situation highly amusing. Ginny glared at her with all the energy she could muster.

Ginny's post, delivered by her brand new light gray owl Violette, consisted of a letter from Bill, a heavy envelope from her mother, and a quickly scrawled note from Harry that announced that as part of Auror training he was going to a training camp in the middle of a forest somewhere and wouldn't be able to write to her for two weeks. She briefly wondered about his reaction to their front page news, but she was interrupted by the sight of James, the new Transfiguration professor, making his way down the table with a stack of timetables.

After securing the five classes she needed to gain entrance to the Healer training program at St. Mungo's, Ginny and Hermione departed for their first period Defense class with the new teacher. She wasn't there when the second bell rang, and the fifteen or so students who were sitting in the desks broke into hurried whispers about it.

"Silence." A lovely, feminine voice with surprising coldness quieted the room instantly, several minutes later when Professor Hardy showed up. Every eye in the room shot to their beautiful professor, while she quickly and snappily walked through the class and to the front. Ginny wasn't surprised to find that she was even prettier up close, with a perfect complexion and large, pale blue eyes that were framed by thick lashes. There was something very familiar about the witch, something Ginny couldn't quite place.

"I am quite aware that many of you that sit here today have fought with hexes and curses, and have defended yourself against hexes and curses, in real life situations. Most of you, as I understand, are quite advanced in this course. However," she looked darkly around at them all, "this does by no way mean that this class will not be a challenge for you." She paused for effect, letting everyone drink in her words.

"Today, I have a different challenge in mind for you. Many of you will dismiss our task today as mundane and unnecessary, but after the events of the past few years, I feel as it my duty to you to teach each and every one of you face you fears and defeat them."

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Ginny realized what Hardy was talking about. As simple as it had been to tackle them back in third year, a lot had changed since then and their obviously competent teacher had decided that the challenge of facing their horrific fears was a good way to start the course, which Ginny knew dealt with the many mysteries of the Dark Arts.

"Boggarts." Hermione's sharp intake of breath next to her confirmed Ginny's fear.

"Yes, Ms. Granger, Boggarts." Hardy said grimly, no trace of amusement in her face. "I will be dividing you into groups of four – yes, Mr. Finnegan, I will be choosing – and each group will go into my study with me to battle the Boggart. You all remember how to get rid of a Boggart, yes?"

"_Ridikulus_." Boot answered, nodding. "And laughter."

"Well put, Mr. Boot." It was a complete mystery to Ginny how Hardy knew every one of their names. "Now, close your eyes, think of what you fear most, and think of how to make it comical…"

Ginny raised her arm cautiously.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"Professor, what if we don't know what our fear is?" The second she asked it, several of her classmates nodded at her question, sitting up straighter to listen to the answer.

A slight smirk pulled at the corners of Hardy's painted lips. "Then you'll just have to play it by the ear, I guess. First group will be… let's see…"

Ginny tuned out, trying desperately to think of what her worst fear was. Her friends and family, dead? Lord Voldemort returning? Harry leaving her once again? She really had no idea which one would show when she faced the boggart, and worst of all, she had no clue _how_ she would make such a situation better. And then…

"Miss Granger, Miss Weasley, Mr. Zabini, Mr. Malfoy, the four of you are next." Hardy announced when she emerged from her study with a few shaky-looking students. Ginny rolled her eyes jokingly at Malfoy, and he smirked back as he made his way to the front of the class with his exceptionally good-looking and very quiet mate.

Ginny drew in a deep breath before entering the study, which, she couldn't help but notice, was decorated with pale blue curtains and pictures of France on the walls.

"Any volunteers to go first?" Hardy asked, taking her seat on a chair, out of the way. "I didn't think so. We'll go alphabetically, then. Miss Granger, I believe you're first."

Hermione took a second to collect her thoughts, and then looking much braver then Ginny felt, she stepped forward, towards the rattling cupboard. Hardy pointed her wand at it, and then –

Ron clamored out, an uncharacteristic expression of malice on his freckled face. "Why would I want to be with _you_? You're a mudblood! Stop pretending to be a witch. You don't belo –"

But Hermione had raised her want defiantly, and with a flick, Ron turned into a butterfly.

"Very good, Miss Granger." Hardy congratulated her. "Mr. Malfoy, take over, please."

Malfoy looked sick, his pale face turning almost green, when he went to stand in front of the butterfly. It immediately turned into a ministry official in the standard Auror uniform, reading from a piece of parchment: "…Draco Malfoy: sentenced to life in Azkaban…"

There was a crack and the Auror was reduced to wearing nothing but his underpants. Horrified, he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to cover up.

"Well done, Mr. Malfoy, well done! Miss Weasley, I believe you are next."

Ginny clutched her wand tightly as she traded places with Malfoy. No sooner had she stepped in front of the nearly naked Auror then the boggart turned into the massive tombstone that was Fred's – only instead of just the one name, there was a long list of names that the stone held all the people she loved.

_Molly and Arthur Weasley_

_Bill Weasley_

_Charlie Weasley_

_Percy Weasley_

_Fred and George Weasley_

_Ron Weasley_

_Harry Potter_

_Hermione Granger_

_Luna Lovegood_

It was all too much for Ginny to handle. Her supposed Gryffindor courage fled from her and she fell forward onto her knees, tears she had not shed for months spilling onto her cheeks, dripping onto the floor.

A pair of strong arms lifted her up and moved her onto a chair, out of the way of the boggart. She could hear Zabini take his turn in front of the boggart bravely, and he didn't dissolve into a sobbing mess.

"Ginny?" Hermione's voice cracked with worry as she leaned down beside her. "It's alright, your family is safe."

"I – kn –know." She gulped. "It's so – so stupid." She managed, sniffling and trying to halt her tears. She could hear the bell ring, signaling the end of class.

"Do you have a free period now, Miss Weasley?" Professor Harpy's voice took a surprisingly gentle note. Ginny nodded, thanking Merlin for small miracles.

"Granger, don't worry about your friend. You can't miss class." Zabini added in politely. "You have Arithmancy too, right? I'll walk you."

Ginny looked up; Hermione's expression was a mix of shock at the fact that a Slytherin was being nice to her and sadness at Ginny's boggart.

"Gin, you'll be okay?" she asked tentatively.

She nodded and smiled as best she could. "Go, don't be late."

Once the two of them were gone, Ginny found it easier to control her shaking and to stop the tears from falling. "I guess I failed that class, huh?" she nervously chuckled at Harpy.

"Today was our first lesson, not for marks, more for each individual to learn more about themselves so they can face their challenges." There was a frown on her perfect face. "Please, do not doubt yourself for not being able to defend a boggart. Wizards and witches with far more experience then yourself have been daunted by them. Mr. Malfoy, I have another class coming; would you take Miss Weasley to the hospital wing and see that she gets a calming drought?"

"Certainly." Malfoy nodded curtly and gave his hand to Ginny. He pulled her up easily and they silently gathered their things from the empty classroom, then set off for the hospital wing. Malfoy kept glancing sideways at her and opening his mouth, as if he was going to say something, but he never did.

In the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey was attending to a few unconscious first years and a fifth year with nasty looking boils on his face. "I'll be with you in a moment, dear." She called to Ginny, who sat down on the nearest bed. Malfoy seemed uncomfortable looking at her and instead turned his gaze outside the windows. The day was beautiful, as had been promised by the clear morning sky when the sun had come up. The shock of the boggart was wearing off for Ginny, and now she was left feeling stupid and weak for not being able to conquer her fears.

"Don't feel ashamed of it, Weasley." Malfoy finally looked at her, his gray eyes like stones. "If you have not faced a boggart since the war, it is quite a shock. I wasn't able to overcome the first boggart either. You worst fear is quite honorable, as well, not selfish like mine is."

"Don't be stupid, mine is just as selfish as yours. I don't want to be left alone without the people who mean most to me. Yes, it was the first boggart I faced, but still. Hermione didn't cry over hers, did she?"

"We're all different." He shrugged. "Please don't tell anyone that I wasn't able to overcome my first boggart." He added after a pause.

Ginny couldn't help but crack a smile. "Don't want to tarnish your reputation?"

"I like to keep my private life just that – private."

"You have changed a lot in the past few months, Malfoy. Or, can I call you Draco now?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Draco is fine. I much prefer it to my last name, since Malfoy is associated with pure-blood pigheadedness and the dark Lord. And to answer your previous question, I spent a lot of time over the summer discussing things with my mother and with Blaise. Everything I was thinking during the last year of the war but couldn't speak of, I was able to tell them."

"Would you ever consider sharing those conversations with me?" She asked softly, curiosity burning her. He looked surprised at her question and it took him a second to answer.

"You are different from the other Weasleys I have known. I do not understand why you are friendly and polite to me; you have every reason to hate me. But yes, I would like to tell you about those conversations. It would be nice to convince one of the heroes that I, a villain, was not so bad."

"I don't think you're a villain, Draco." The name sounded strange on her tongue, but she continued. "And like I said before, I don't think my family does either. Your father is a different story, but you and him are not the same person."

A strange, true smile spread over his pale features. "It makes me overjoyed to hear someone say that I am not my father." He said honestly. "We look alike, yes, but I have always thought myself to be more of a mix of him and my mother."

Madame Pomfrey bustled over with a calming drought for Ginny, who accepted it eagerly and swallowed the foul-tasting potion without complaint. A dull feeling spread through her body and brain, leaving her slightly numb. Numb was nice. There were no emotions involved.


	4. Nightly Wanderings

The month of September dissolved as quickly as it came. The final year of Hogwarts, combined with everything they had not learned the previous year because of Voldemort's influence on the school meant that there was a whole lot of homework. Every evening that she was not working with the Gryffindor quidditch team (which she was captain of), she found herself in the library with Hermione, working on essays, or in empty classrooms, practicing the increasingly complicated spells they learned in transfiguration and charms. She hadn't found the time to talk to Draco, which she surprisingly found herself regretting. The couple of conversations they had during the first days of term had been interesting and stimulating, and Ginny was genuinely curious about his last year working for Voldemort.

The first weekend in October was scheduled to have a Hogsmede day, and when Harry sent Ginny a letter telling her that he would be waiting for her, in the Three Broomsticks, Ginny found herself with more pressing matters on her hands. She'd never been a particularly girly girl, growing up with six brother and all, but she hadn't seen Harry in over a month and it was quite necessary that she look quite brilliant. In the end, she settled for a pair of tight, dark jeans, a v-neck white t-shirt, and a dark green cardigan. Her dark red locks stood out nicely against the green, and the smoky make-up Demelza had artfully done around her eyes made them stand out. Hermione had put an equal amount of work for Ron: her hair was tamed into curls, she was dressed nicely in ripped blue jeans and a cashmere sweater, and she's spent a miraculous amount of time on her make-up.

"Are you nervous to see Ron?" Ginny asked as they walked to Hogsmede.

"Nervous? No! I'm just excited." Hermione confessed. "You're nervous to see Harry?" she added, with a bit of confusion in her voice.

Ginny shrugged. "I just hope Auror training hasn't changed them too much."

"It's only been a month, Gin, people don't change that quickly. Do you think Ron will be angry when I tell him that my partner for my Arithmancy project is a Slytherin?"

"Probably. At least it's only Zabini; he never did anything directly towards Ron or Harry." Ginny snorted.

The walk to the little village was pleasant; the day was beautiful, the sky bright blue and the leaves beginning to change color. Fall had always been Ginny's favorite season, and it was because of days like this that is was as such. Ginny's anticipation and excitement grew as they made their way into Hogsmede. She'd never been an exactly patient person, so the minute she saw the familiar head of black hair standing outside the Three Broomsticks (which was a good few blocks away) she reacted like the loud Weasley she was:

"Harry!" she yelled, catching his attention. She swirled on the spot, and in an instant had Apperated a foot away from him. He picked her up and Ginny hugged him tight, inhaling his smell and noticing that Auror training had given him some delectable muscles. "I've missed you." She admitted when he set her down and took her hand.

"I've missed you too, love. Sorry I haven't written more I've been –"

"Busy. I understand completely, if you had written more I probably wouldn't have had time to answer. Seventh year is bloody tough."

"I wouldn't know, I never did it."

"Sod off, Mr. Boy – got – chosen – one." She teased.

"How's the Gryffindor team doing, captain?"

"They're a young team, yes, but not bad. Me and Demelza and this new kid, Tommy, a third year, are the chasers; beaters are the same ones you found, and our seeker is a tiny little third year names Veronica. She's quite speedy."

"What about your keeper?"

She looked at him, exasperated. "I told you about our new disaster of a keeper. Remember? The one who crashed into the ground backwards?"

"Oh, right." Ginny could tell he was lying, but didn't mention it. "Well, has he improved?"

"Slightly. He can fly a lot better now, but he hasn't mastered the art of guarding the hoops quite as well."

"When's your first match?"

"In three weeks time." She replied. "How about we take a walk, instead of going in there? I would rather not see my brother snogging Hermione, and it's a lovely day."

He nodded, and they slowly left Hogsmede, taking the winding path into the mountains and talking about everything they had missed in each other life over the past month. They returned to the village before dinner, just in time for them to load up on sweets at Honeydukes and meet up with Hermione and Ron, who were looking ridiculously happy as they laughed over a joke. Ron's arm was around Hermione protectively, and her eyes positively sparkled in a way that no amount of make-up could produce.

"Our visit was too short." Ginny pouted as Harry wrapped his arms around her. "You'll have to come down for the next one, too. Its next month."

"And then at Christmas, we're spending two whole weeks together." He told her, tightening his grip around her. "I don't want to let you go."

"I don't particularly want you to." She added, standing up on a tiptoe so she could kiss him goodbye. They stopped only when Ron cleared his throat loudly and pointedly; Hermione smacked his arm but the moment was broken. As the two girls waved goodbye to their boyfriends, Ginny felt happy and complete. Little did she know that this was going to be the last time she saw Harry and felt completely happy.

***

_There was a little girl, sitting quietly in a brightly lit room. The pale blue walls were covered with several paintings, a long bookshelf full of heavy volumes, on one wall, a majestic marble fireplace. No flame flickered in it; from the amount of sunlight pouring in from the two tall windows, it had to be spring or summer. Several vases, filled with beautiful flowers, sat on an end table and a coffee table. The girl looked no older then six or seven; yet she sat perfectly still. Her blonde hair, so light it looked almost white, fell just past her shoulders in ringlets, touching the sleeves of her pretty green dress. Her skin was lightly tanned, as if she had spent a fair amount of time playing outside. Her eyes were a sweet, warm brown color, and at the moment they looked bored. The pale blue room was boring for a little girl. _

_Somewhere in the grand house, a beautiful voice began to sing, sing a song about a princess as beautiful as the sun, the moon, and the stars… but slowly her voice got higher, and all of a sudden the beautiful voice was screaming, and the little girl jumped up, and when she opened her mouth, a deep, angry scream escaped, not the scream of a little girl… _

Ginny woke with a start. Taking a deep breath, she found her wand from under her pillow and quietly got out of bed. Down in the common room, she thought about her very vivid dream, pondering about what on earth it could have meant. Who was the little girl, as beautiful as an angel but with the voice of a devil? And where was the elegant, pale blue room? Ginny was sure she'd never seen a room like it. As much as she tried, the dream would not leave her mind, and she knew there was no possibility of sleep again, although she's gone to sleep barely four hours ago. Outside, it was still pitch black. It felt as though the whole castle was sleeping; everything was still and silent, cloaked by darkness.

She went upstairs to grab a heavier sweater, and then quietly left the common room. The fat lady was snoring loudly, obviously deeply asleep. Ginny was disappointed that she had once again been woken by a dream; lately, her nightmares came fewer and fewer – something she was very glad about because her sleep was important to her, it was very hard to focus on NEWT classes, writing lengthy essays, and training her team for their first match on a couple hours of sleep. Her feet led her through the halls, past the Ravenclaw common room, up to the highest tower in the castle.

"Couldn't sleep again?" a low, soft voice said behind her. Ginny jumped a foot and whipped around, but the shadowed figure grabbed her wrist and stepped into the light of the candle.

"Trying to scare me senseless, Draco?" she hissed, flicking her wand at the candle so several more multiplied form it, giving the room more light.

He seemed to find her fear amusing. "So we meet again, wandering around the castle at night." He moved towards the window, already dressed in a cloak. Ginny felt underdressed in her plaid pajama pants and oversized sweater. "Couldn't sleep again? Nightmare?" he sounded sympathetic, at least.

"No, not really –well, sort of. I don't know. I just had this really strange dream… I don't know what to make of it."

"Do tell." He turned towards her, his pale features illuminated in the flickering candlelight.

She sighed, but continued. "There was this little girl, sitting quietly in this beautiful blue room I've never seen before; then there was this beautiful voice singing somewhere and it turned into an awful scream. Then the little girl screamed as well, but it was a horrific, devilish scream." She shrugged.

"What did the room look like?"

"Very beautiful, it looked like it belonged in a manor or something."

"So nothing you've seen before, then."

"Your arrogance never seizes to amaze me, Malfoy."

"I was kidding." She could practically hear him roll his eyes. "Do you wander the halls often? I'm surprised I haven't seen since the first night."

"Usually I stay in my warm bed if I wake up. Do you – wander the halls often?"

He took a while to answer. "Every night, mostly." He said wryly. "Usually it's a bit later… right at dawn. But tonight I haven't been able to sleep at all."

"Why?" she asked quietly, going to stand beside him.

"Are nightmares still nightmares if they happened to you? If what you dream about is not something you fear might happen, but something that has happened in the past?" he didn't wait for an answer. "I keep replaying pieces of my life in my head, sometimes consciously (though I try not to) but mostly subconsciously, when I am sleeping. I tried to go to sleep, but it was impossible tonight."

"I understand." Ginny said quietly, shivering. It was cold in the tower, with no fireplace. They both turned to look out into the night; the sky was dark and cloudy, there was no light from the moon or any stars.

"Here." Draco said courteously, undoing his cloak and handing it to her. "I'm not cold." He promised when he saw her open her mouth to protest.

"Thanks." She knew you looked comical in the long, black cloak, but it was heavy and warm. She pulled out her wand and did her best to transfigure two old moldy-looking chairs into something more comfortable. Aside from the horrid yellow color, the couch was actually quite nice, she thought proudly.

"I saw you on the weekend, at Hogsmede, did you and Potter had a nice time?" Draco sounded like he forcing himself to ask the polite question, and Ginny laughed at his efforts.

"Yeah, we had a good time. There was barely any time to miss each other; we've both been very busy." She sat down on the couch and patted the spot beside her. "Sit."

"I actually don't want to hear all the cozy details of your date, thanks."

"What makes you think I want to tell you?"

So he took his spot next to her and every breath he took came out like fog as he struggled with his next question. "I don't know why I'm curious about this, but is it true? Do you love him?"

"When he left me, to go off chasing Voldemort, I was heartbroken and convinced I loved him, even though it had been very few months that we dated. But once I returned to Hogwarts, there were all those horrors to deal with. I didn't have very much time to think about Harry. Since the Battle of Hogwarts, we've been dating, taking things slowly. Yes, I do love him, but not in the way I thought I did. I worry sometimes that I don't know what love is yet, because shouldn't I be missing him more, even if I am busy?"

"Do your parents love each other, Ginny?"

"Yes, of course."

"There you, you know a lot more about love then I do. So don't ask me if you love him or not."

"Your parents don't love each other?"

He let out a mirthless chuckle. "Oh, no. They never had, though when I was a child they got along very well, father buying mother everything she wanted and mother helping him keep the Malfoy name among the favorites. But since the Dark Lord's return, it all changed. Mother, although she does not seem like it, is one of the most intelligent people I know. She helped both father and I keep out of trouble as best she could, but she hated – _hated_ – him for bringing us into the dark side of the war. Father has a tendency to sometimes let his emotions escape onto his face, but mother has the best mask I've ever seen. I hope to one day be able to master something like that, although I suppose it is not nearly as useful to me now as it would have been. She warned me, yes, she tried to warn me, that once I had entered His service, I would enjoy my life much less. I was conceited and stupid, and thought I knew better then her. The first task He gave me, as you probably know, was to kill Dumbledore. At first I took the task joyfully, but as the year went by I realized that I was in so far over my head, here was nobody I could turn to… And last year, I realized so many times that none of this was worth it, the war was just as stupid as those muggles fighting in crusades over religion.

"You have to understand that I grew up learning that purebloods were better then everyone else. I'm sorry to say that it was being in the middle of a war that made me realize that my 'special' pureblood family was the one causing so much destruction. Now I see how stupid and childish I must have sounded, all those years at Hogwarts where I thought myself better then the rest of the school because they were muggleborn, or poor, or blood traitors."

It was the longest speech Ginny had ever heard him make, and it astounded her. She knew that he had changed since the war, became a better person, but she had no clue that he had pondered the topic of his previous behavior to such an extent. "You've got a long life ahead of you, Draco, that's what is important. You wasted seventeen years being arrogant and stupid, but you've got a hundred to develop your own opinions." She leaned her head against one of the cushions and curled up under Draco's cloak, which she was now using as a blanket.

"Thanks for listening, Ginny. It feels good… to tell someone other then my mother and Blaise, who have both known and liked me for many years."

She yawned. "No problem. Do you mind if I have a little catnap here?"

"Go right ahead. I'll keep watch." He encouraged her.

"You try to sleep, too."

"You need your sleep more then I do, princess. I can function without it."

Ginny felt a comeback on the tip of her tongue, but she was too tired to retort, and let her eyes close and let herself slip back into dreamland for a few hours...

"Ginny." Someone was whispering in her ear far too soon. "Ginny, I hear someone. I'm going to go distract them or something; disillusion yourself or something."

"No, you hide." She said sleepily. "A teacher is more likely to believe that I couldn't sleep if it's just me. Go!" She opened her eyes to see him tap his head, and then Ginny could barely see him. It was still dark outside, but the faintest shimmers of light were creeping out.

"Excuse me, is someone in here? Oh, Miss Weasley." It was Hardy, dressed for the day and wearing a frown. Ginny could just see flash of something as Draco made his escape out of the corridor. "What are you doing up here, after hours?"

"I'm sorry, Professor. I couldn't sleep, I thought coming up here would help." She admitted, standing up.

"As much as I believe you, I cannot simply pretend that you are not breaking the rules. Detention, this evening in my office. I'll escort you back to your common room. Come on."

Ginny stood up, hastily taking the cloak and wrapping it around her again. "Yes, Professor."

Silently, the two of them began taking the long way back to the common room. Ginny guessed that Hardy hadn't gone to school at Hogwarts; otherwise she surely would have known some of the passages that every teacher and student knew about. While they walked, Ginny's thoughts drifted back to Malfoy and his confession about his childhood and his year with the death eaters. Was it wrong, to be so curious about his past? She couldn't help but wonder about what kind of things he had endured the year he had spent with the Death Eaters.

"Malfoy!" Hardy called, bringing Ginny back to earth. Malfoy had been gazing at the sunrise, and apparently had not heard them coming. If he had heard hardy the first time, heard her footsteps, wouldn't he have heard them this time as well? Ginny raised her eyebrows at him as he swirled around, a guilty look on his face.

"Hello, Professor."

"Care to explain your after-hours wanderings?"

He shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. I was waiting for the Great Hall to open for breakfast."

"That is all very well, but I'm afraid you will have to join Miss Weasley here for detention this evening in my office. I trust you will return to your common room now?" Her eyes bore holes in him.

"Yes, Professor, I'm on my way." He smirked, and gave a gentlemanly nod at the two of them before hurrying off in the directions of the dungeons."

At least he would make detention a bit more interesting.

**A/N: Personally, I don't like Harry that much, and I think only JK can write him well. But I had to put him in, to show the kind of relationship they have as opposed to Ginny and Draco. **


	5. Letters and Lines

As Flitwick went on and on, explaining the properties of making objects appear out of nowhere, Ginny doodled on the letter she had received that morning, at breakfast, from her brother. The special thing about the letter was that it came from George; the devastated man who had locked himself up in his workroom the day after Fred's funeral, refused to talk to anyone and continued to make more and more products for his successful shop, which he was now the sole owner of. George had not written to Ginny since she'd gone back to Hogwarts, and although she had it expected it, it had saddened her. So when the envelope came, her name written on it in George's familiar messy handwriting, a rush of hope invaded her.

_My darlingest, dearest Ginerva Weasley,_

_Before I jump into my little jokes about the fact that you have befriended the little ferret himself, I'm going to apologize first for being such a huge prat all these months. Seriously, I've been as bad as Percy! Actually, almost as bad. I'm not at his level yet. Why didn't you smack me, or something of the sort, to get some sense into me? _

_I've got some news for you: remember Angelina, who was quidditch captain during your fourth year? Extremely pretty, and a very good chaser? Yes, well, about a month ago I ran into her at the Leaky Caldron, and we've been going out for dinners and coffees and such. Dating, I do believe it's called. She's my girlfriend now, isn't that nice (she threatened me at first, but now I believe I do like having her as my girlfriend). She did what you failed to do, Gin, and smacked me back to my senses. _

_Anyway, how sickle Ronnikens handling the fact that you are pregnant with triplets and are getting married to the boy with the scar on his forehead at Christmas? Yes, we all saw that witch weekly article, it gave us quite the laugh. But really, it's only funny if it's not true. IT'S NOT TRUE, RIGHT GIN??_

_Speaking of Harry, he mentioned that you have been on speaking terms with one Draco Malfoy? I know that he never really hurt anyone during his time with dear old Voldy, but still, he's a Slytherin. I'm not mum, or Ron, but be careful around him, alright? I don't know if harry has talked to you about this at all, but there are still Death Eaters out there, and they want to hurt us, and especially Harry. You are still a target because you are the love of his life and it would kill him if anything were to happen to you. The Death Eaters know this, so I'm just warning you (don't hex me) to keep safe. The war may be over, but there is no lack of Dark Wizards in the world. _

_I promise I'll owl you more often. Angelina said she'd cut off my other ear if I don't, so really, I've got no choice. _

_Love, _

_George_

"Now pick your partners for your projects, yes? Let me remind you, first, that our headmistress has asked that your choice of partner be from another house, to promote inter-house relationships." Flitwick squeaked.

"Ginny." Hermione hissed, prodding her, Ginny looked around with a start, Zabini was standing beside Hermione, and t seemed as though the rest if her classmates had already paired off. Finally registering what Flitwick had said, she looked hopefully around the room to find someone suitable from another house.

"Looking for me?" Draco drawled, appearing beside her. "Partner, Weaslette?"

"Sure, ferret." She snapped back playfully. Despite George's warning, she knew Draco was not one of the Death Eaters trying to get to Harry through her. "So what do we do?"

"You did look like you were in dreamland, but I was hoping that you were still subconsciously listening." He sighed. "We're supposed to do a lot of research on the properties of making things appear out of thin air, and then two weeks from now, we will have an examination on it. We'll have to decorate a room, with furniture and ornaments and everything." He relayed impatiently. "Oh, and write a report on what we learned about this type of magic."

"Doesn't that sounds like balls of fun." She said sarcastically. "I heard a rumor that we're going to get a large assignment in Potions, as well."

"Be my partner for that, will you? I know how good you are at potions, and my mark is suffering in that class."

"Course, I expect McGonagall will have told Slughorn about the inter-house thins as well."

"Have you been invited to the Slug Club again this year?"

"Yeah, but only once, I don't think he's had too much time to organize many parties this year. It's not bad, being in the slug club. Especially because his Christmas party is always full of drama. Besides, you get to dress up and rink firewhiskey, what's not to like?"

"I'm not surprised I haven't been invited, Slughorn is very anti-Death Eater, isn't her?"

"He just weeds out those who he thinks are going to do well in life. Don't know what on earth he sees in me."

The bell rang, interrupting their conversation and signaling the end of classes for the day.

"See you in detention, seven-thirty, right?" he asked as Ginny stuffed her books into her favorite brown patent leather purse.

"That's what Hardy said. Think she'll make us do anything gruesome or horrible?"

"Nah. Carmen wouldn't do that to me."

"Carmen?" Ginny asked curiously.

He seemed to realize his mistake. "Never mind. See you, Ginny." He slunk off, robes wishing over the floor. She turned back to Hermione, but she was gone as well. Sighing, Ginny flung her hair over one shoulder and made her way up to the common room to drop her books off before going to take a quick bath before dinner.

Luna was walking through the halls when Ginny left the prefects bathroom, feeling refreshed and clean in a pair of wide-legged dark jeans and see-through white blouse over a white tank-top. Luna looked different then usual, slightly more normal then she usually did. She was dressed in a pretty light blue cotton dress and tights; her hair was brushed and wavy, and there was no dangling radishes or any other pieces of strange jewelry. Her eyes, however, were just as dreamy as ever, which was reassuring. "Hello, Ginny. Are you going to dinner?"

"Yup, I'm just meeting Hermione by the common room first. You look pretty, are you going to dinner too?"

"No… I'm meeting father in Hogsmede, he wants me to meet his new assistant over dinner. I'm all dressed up, see?" Luna did a twirl.

"Yeah, that's a nice dress. Have fun, see you."

"Bye." Luna floated off just as Ginny turned the corner from the portrait of the Fat Lady. Hermione was waiting for her, leaning against the wall and reading a light novel.

"Hermione, you ready?" Ginny called out, and the witch looked up, a little startled.

"Oh! There you are. Why do you have detention tonight?"

Ginny was never one for keeping things from her best friend, but she didn't think Hermione would really understand if she told her that she and Draco had been talking in the tallest tower in the middle of the night. So she offered the polished version. "I couldn't sleep, so I wandered around and fell asleep on a couch in one of the towers, and Hardy caught me." She shrugged.

"That's a pity. You could have woken me up, Gin." Hermione reminded her. Ginny thought of all the summer nights, when they had shared a room at the burrow, and their frequent nightmares had woken each other up. Hermione had always been there for Ginny, and the times Hermione herself had woken up sobbing, Ginny had comforted her. "What was it about, the dream?"

Over dinner, Ginny and Hermione analyzed the dream as best they could, but neither of them could understand it. Before the war, Ginny never paid attention to her dreams, but she lately learned that there was a reason behind every dream, and the best way to make sure she didn't have the same nightmare again was to look through the dream and decide what it meant and what the cause of it was. After dinner, Hermione went up to the library and Ginny took the fastest path to Hardy's office. When she knocked on the door, it immediately opened and as she entered, she saw that Draco was already there, sitting quietly in a chair. Hardy was all dressed up, in a pair of black wool trousers and a pale blue blouse. Her hair was up in a complicated bun, and as usual, Ginny felt rather ugly in her presence.

"I have to step out, but I trust that you two will do as I say. I want you to write the lines 'I will not wander the halls after curfew again' until I come back. If I can tell that you were not working, you will come back tomorrow. Give me your wands." She held out her hand with a stern look, and with a sigh form both of them, they handed over their beloved wands. She shut them in her desk, flicking her wand so the drawer locked, and then she was gone with a swish of her black travelling cloak.

"Lines? Are we in first year?" Ginny whined, taking out her quill and ink and sitting down at the long table at the side of the study. "My arm is going to cramp." She said sullenly.

"Aren't you just a princess." He said cheekily.

"I've never heard of a princess with bright red hair." Ginny retorted.

"You could be the first." He picked out a rose from the vase and with a flourish, smoothed away all the spikes and twisted into weird looking crown with a flower sticking out. He leaned across the table and placed it on her head while she giggled. "There, you look like a perfect princess."

"Thank you, Count Malfoy." She blew him a kiss.

"Count? I don't get to be a king?"

"Nah, Count is much more appropriate for you." She decided.

"I want my crown back, princess or not. I'm a king." He said sulkily.

"Too bad, its mine now!" she smirked at him. "Fine, you're a king, but that means you're old and boring. It's much more fun, being a princess!" she turned back to her parchment and hurriedly wrote until she had filled out another few inches of parchment. Draco couldn't help but laugh as the flower fell off the top of her head. He carefully picked it up and placed it back on her fiery hair.

"Careful with your crown, princess." He said softly. They stared at each other for a moment, and Ginny looked away, feeling slightly dizzy and weird. "So, what was with the dreamy look in charms today? Thinking about Potter?" he pretended to gag.

Ginny glared at him before answering. "No, and if I was, it's none of your business."

"Well… I mean, we're friends, right? And don't friends talk about stuff like boyfriends and girlfriends?" he said hesitantly.

"Friends with a Malfoy, who knew." Ginny replied, an amused tilt in her voice. "Well, the whole world knows about my love life – by the way, I'm not pregnant with triplets or am I getting married any time soon – but what about you? Any girlfriends? Or boyfriends?"

Draco gave a very unrefined snort. "Boyfriend? Are you kidding?" **(A/N: I just want to make sure you all know that I have nothing against gays, but I think Malfoy would be slightly homophobic)**

"I'm teasing you, but go on about the girlfriend side of it. Parkinson?"

"Pansy and I dated on and off all through Hogwarts, but we really are nothing more ten good friends."

"Avoiding my question, Draco?"

"Ginny, come on, you know that I'm not exactly popular right now, are you going to make me say it? No, there's no female in my life." He sounded irritated. "I divulged that, now, care to share why you were daydreaming in charms?"

"I was just thinking about my brother. George, to be specific, because he has been in a slump since Fred died, and he seems to finally have emerged." She took the letter out of the back pocket of her jeans. She'd re-read it so many times, and folded it over and over again, so some of the ink was a bit faded.

"You were close to him, weren't you?" he asked quietly, obviously now talking about the dead twin.

Ginny nodded, blinking rapidly. She couldn't open her mouth, scared she would be unable to hold down her tears. She looked back down at her parchment, and as silence filled the study she wrote her lines diligently, glancing up at the clock every so often…

It was past ten when Draco spoke up again. He threw down his quill and stretched out, yawning. "That's enough, I refuse to write anymore."

Ginny looked up. "I wonder how long she'll keep us here."

"It's almost been three hours! Really, neither of us did anything. It's not our fault we've seen a lot in our short lives." He scowled. "She said she didn't want to give us detention but _had_ to."

The way he talked about her was strange, like he knew her. It reminded Ginny of how he had called her Carmen earlier, and how she hadn't seen him at dinner. "Draco, do you know her?"

"I'm not supposed to say." He said after a seconds' pause. "But yes, I do."

"You had dinner in here, didn't you? That's why you were here when I got here and that's why I didn't see you at dinner."

"You were looking for me at dinner?"

"Well, yeah, I thought we could walk to detention together."

"Ginny, do you know how most of the school would react if someone from the heroic Weasley family walked out of the Great Hall with someone from the evil Malfoy family?"

"Didn't they listen to what our headmistress said in her speech? We shouldn't make the same mistakes we made before the war. Our classmates seem to deal with me and you talking, and even partnering up, in class."

"Those are our classmates, who are intelligent enough to be in NEWT classes. They are mature; the rest of the school, well, isn't."

"So? They can deal – oh, I see what you're doing; you're avoiding my questions again! How do you know Hardy?"

"None of your business, really," Draco noticed Ginny opening her mouth to retort, "but fine, if you really want to know. You can't tell anyone."

"Your secret is safe with me." She rolled her eyes, exasperated. He had told her more important things, about his father and his time as a death eater, but he wouldn't tell her how he knew their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?

"She's my aunt. My father's sister."

"Your father has a sister?"

"She's only half-related to him. My grandfather, Abraxas, had an affair quite late in his life, and once Carmen's mother found herself pregnant, she ran away to France. Carmen is only ten years older then me." He explained. "Family drama… anyway, I've always loved going to visit her, it was a nice surprise when I saw her here, at Hogwarts."

There were footsteps coming up the stairs, and both of them quickly picked up their quills and continued to do lines as though they had been doing nothing but.

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Weasley." Hardy opened the door, striding in. She was soaked; Ginny hadn't noticed before, but now when she looked out the window she could make out the pouring rain in the dark night. "I trust you did your lines?"

"Yes, Professor." They answered in unison. Hardy checked both their parchments, and after nodded her approval, handed them back their wands.

"Do not let me find you wandering the halls at night again, please." She warned them as they stepped out of the room. "Even if you can't sleep."

*

"So really, you have to build the object in your mind and then cast your spell, otherwise it won't come out as planned?" Ginny recited what she had learned to Draco at the library that Friday evening. Hermione, who was sitting next to them with Zabini, nodded approvingly.

"Did you jot the process down?" Draco asked absentmindedly, not looking up from the complicated formula he was reading about. It was research for the theoretical part of their paper. The project was turning out to be much more complicated then Ginny had ever thought. Of course, she knew that making tables and chairs appear out of nowhere was something that required a lot of skill, but she was determined to be able to do it, and properly.

"Remind me again, when are we going to stop taking notes on all this theory and try practicing?"

"Ginny, you heard some of the horror stories. We have to understand the concept first." Hermione replied. A thick stack of notes on the subject were in front of her, and she was frowning as she read them.

"You two, shouldn't you remember this from last year?" Ginny asked Blaise and Draco.

"No, Snape banned it from being taught. I reckon he thought if some of the Gryffindors learned to do it properly they would build a torture chamber for all the Slytherins." Blaise replied. Ginny snorted and shut the book she was reading, causing dust to fly out into the air. She stood up to go fetch something more helpful, and when she returned with the heavy book (which talked loudly and annoyingly on pages 100 and 780, incidentally) she found Hermione and Blaise gone, and a very bored Draco copying out the different incantations for different types of things.

"Finally, you're back. I need your chatter to get me through this theory, it's ghastly." Draco sighed as he glanced out into the dark sky. "I'm tired of being stuck in the library all day. I agree with you, let's not listen to Granger, but tomorrow try our hand at some chairs."

"I thought you'd never give in!" Ginny exclaimed, relieved. "Our best bet is to do it outside, far from any innocent bystanders. Just in case."

A large, gray owl appeared quite suddenly by the window they were sitting at, hooting urgently. Draco glanced at it and frowned. "That's one of my family owls, what on earth couldn't wait until tomorrow morning?" Glancing around to make sure Madam Prince was nowhere near, he waved his wand and the window opened. The Bird dropped the letter in front of him and flew off. Ginny tried not to look too curious as he opened the letter, but after reading just a few lines she couldn't help but stare.

Draco had turned a ghostly, transparent white, and his hand that was clutching the letter was balled so tightly the parchment had begun to tear.

"Draco?" she asked cautiously. He didn't answer. He stood up, still as white as Ginny had ever seen him; without another word turned on his heel and fled the library.


End file.
